Joseph Flinders, a radio producer in the U.K., has proved that the pen is mightier than the sword. Buzzfeed is reporting that when Flinders discovered his 11-year-old sister Lola had been told by a schoolmate that it was “disgusting” she had a gay brother, he posted an open letter on Facebook addressing the situation.

Upon learning about the homophobic bully, Flinders explained to Lola, “Not everybody gets an upbringing like we’ve had. We know it’s not disgusting, because what does it matter? It’s not a choice you can make. But some people’s parents don’t think in the same way as the rest of us.” Although Flinders made an attempt at expressing compassion in order to pacify his visibly upset sister, his protective big brother instincts kicked in as he became upset that Lola was shaken by the words of another boy at her school.

“I explained to her I wasn’t mad he said it, because it’s not the first person to have said something like that, but I was upset that she was upset and that she didn’t need to be because I’m a big boy.”

Flinders’ anger when he began to post his thoughts on the social media network soon turned to pity as he realized the bully’s homophobic viewpoint was the unfortunate result of his upbringing. “You’re not born homophobic,” the 21-year-old from Manchester told Buzzfeed. He added, “Lola was such a clean slate so when I told her I was gay it was no issue because it’s not an issue until you’re taught it’s one.”

Along with the Facebook status update, Flinders also included a photo of the siblings at Manchester Pride. Joseph and Lola were clearly brought up in a loving, accepting and non-judgmental environment. Their parents should be very proud.

The full post reads as follows:

“An open letter to the odious little toad who gave my baby sister a hard time for having a gay big brother. I just wanted to give an example of what a decent upbringing looks like. This is a photo I took of us at the gay pride parade, which she asked to attend with me. I think that’s pretty cool of an eleven year old, don’t you?

I’ve never known such an accepting, compassionate, loving child and I don’t want your hate-filled existence making her any less than she is.

I’m not confrontational but this is a nerve I wouldn’t touch if I were you. Thankfully, you’re a dying breed and I imagine this is the last generation that’ll have to endure narrow-minded tools.

I think she’s pretty great and she’s prouder than ever to tell people her brother is gay. So enjoy spreading hate to nobody that gives a toss.”

@Dewayne Loftis: Yes, we are ALL born by the Grace of God…. guess what? That means God makes Gay People. Funny how that works. Gay people usually… almost always… have STRAIGHT parents. Guess it was meant to be, eh?

@Dewayne Loftis: This from a guy that thinks praying can sure a child with a disease. Maybe you should back up and little and ask your imaginary friend why the child has the disease in the first place.

Apparently, God wasn’t very graceful when he made you and your kind. Plus, by your own logic, if we were not born this way, (meaning we have a choice to be gay or straight) than you too, are gay and are just making the choice to be straight for now. However, you could change at any moment to be gay if you wanted to. Cool, so come join our side for a while and see how much fun we have, dealing with a**holes like you all the time.

This was a wonderful post that made people smile and we need more of that in this world with the amount of hatred indifference and cruelty that we as a community face in so many ways.

Your post however is the same ridiculous and uneducated tripe that does nothing to benefit this world nor brings anything positive or uplifting to it.

So continue on with your rants about us and your God condemning us the God I was taught of when I WAS a Christian was one of love and grace not one of hate and a sadistic nature.

Now please go away and find something better to do with your time besides troll gay websites either because you have nothing else better to occupy your time with, you are a troubled soul who should seek psychological help genuinely, or you are simply another one of those people who feel you should be ashamed of your sexuality and who you love due to the heteronormative society that we live in.

Its better to live openly and happily then live miserable and project your own self hatred and self loathing on those of us who are happy with ourselves and have the self esteem and integrity to know that we are as we are meant to be and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

He couldn’t have said it better! I’m a gay man and I really wish the gay community would get off their high horse, and stop shoving our gayness in everyone’s face. On one hand we say who we sleep with is not anyone’s business, and then some fool stands up and asks someone in a public forum if he sleeps with men. By doing things like this, we’re putting our own fight back by years.

@tetrahedron: Oops. I had to register to add my comment and then added my comment to the wrong story. Still, I think we need to stop shoving our gayness in everyone’s faces. We need to stop playing the victim. Man up. The world is changing. Move on. Stop harassing straight people!

Bravo to this young man who is a role model for his sister as well as for everyone else who needs to understand that sexual orientation is something we are born with. It is not acquired. I am somewhat disturbed however by some of the blatantly sexual comments which only add to the negative stereotypes that homophobes like to throw in our faces. It is quite obvious that Joseph is a handsome young man and is sexually attractive. That however it totally beside the point of his defense of his sister in the face of the bullying to which she was subjected and really has no place in the commentary. I’m all for allowing one’s fantasies to run wild, but expressing them in this forum does not add anything positive to the conversation. I am surely not a prude and can easily add erotica to my commentary but it simply is inappropriate…here.

Let’s clear it up with a certified Medical group whether or not for the LAST TIME. Is being gay a from birth thing or do you develop it? But better still, Is being straight a from birth thing? The last I heard there are 5 states that outlaw changeover therapy as being fraudulent!

Do you seriously think guys like you help this community become better or stronger with the constant need to emasculate someone else in order to make you feel better about yourself?

Telling people to man up is always primitive and archaic as well as rude and unclassy to boot.

That attitude is what creates the division it doesn’t build bridges it actually burns more down ultimately.

Being divisive only creates a bigger gap it also furthers hatred and distrust and lack of respect for people who feel it’s there duty to pull people up by their boot straps and tell them to be a man instead of a whiny pussy.

This attitude is the worst one and the most damaging one by far within this community.

@tetrahedron: Stop demanding rights and “man-up”? People like you haven’t done shit for the community. You haven’t done shit to advance our rights or anything. And you certainly haven’t done a damn thing to help improvements in the last few decades. IF you want to hide in the closet all day because you’re afraid of the way people will look at you… then go ahead.

To buck the trend, I am very disappointed in Joseph. Here we are, supposed to be the cream of the artistic and creative élite, and the best that he can come up with is “odious” and “toad”? Where was the “phlegmatic expectoration” or “thou whimpering nasal detritus”? Lovely story, but GET INTO IT, Joseph, get into it. Make him terrified of the very language which he himself defiled.

I like his attitude, partly because I am the oldest of the kids in my family and I have a sister that would stuff that kind of crap right down the throat of the ignoramus that said such a ridiculous thing to her face. There’s 5 of us (mom and dad make 7); none of my brothers and sisters would fail to take that kind of opportunity to educate the knucklehead(s) making such uneducated comments. People that say hateful things about gay/black/hispanic/native American/non-citizens or any person they don’t approve of just show what kind of inhuman, illiterate and discriminatory creatures they really are. Like any other type of discriminatory pronouncements someone feels entitled to provide for all to see, more is said about the ignorant, ungracious, uneducated and self-centered they are. You Mom told you when you were a child a very great piece of advice: if you haven’t got something nice to say, don’t say anything at all. That advice is well worth following from the day you first heard it until they day someone hauls you ‘toes-up’ to the morgue. The founders of America had no issue with someone agreeing with them or not; you don’t seriously think all of the founders that wrote and signed our Constitution agreed with each other on most of things, I trust. But none of them would tolerate violence towards either of the speakers. They fought for all of our civil rights together, costing thousands of deaths and injuries up until the most devastating of all American Wars, the Civil War. They had convictions, and convictions they would fight for

Hot looking man!
And his sister is cute looking kid that has a very good Older brother.

My kid sister lives in the south, Eastern Tennessee to be exact, and the amount of jerks she encounters there is minimal. All of my family knows about my sexuality, my nieces and Nephews also know and Don’t give a toss about it. They only see me, Uncle Thomas.
My sister sees her older brother that protected her through school and carried her many places and helped her out when the help was needed and the brother that pounded her abusive ex husband into the pavement when I found out he beating on her.
Family matters. Abusive, inconsiderate, little testicle warts like homophobes do not.